Everything was calm. The soft breeze blew through the meadow, the bright green leaves rustling and waving gently at the winds caress. The knee high grass, thick and full barely bent at the winds passing. The sun shined down, sunlight streaking through the canopy, dappling the ground with small and always moving bright spots. The summer heat wasnt oppressive but definitely was noticeable. Water could be heard from the gently babbling creek as it gently flowed, opening up into a flowing river further down.
"Marco!" called out a young voice, recognizably male. A young boy waded in the water, up to his stomach as he paced around the little inlet of water where it flowed calmly. His hair, the black strands plastering his face and almost covering his closed eyes dripped water off from him stumbling over a small rock a couple seconds earlier. A giggle was heard just before she responded "Polo!". Turning towards the sound of the girls voice, he began to walk, slowly slidding one foot in front of the other so as to avoid tripping over another underwater obstacle.
" You'll never catch me like that Ezekiel.." The young girl teased, sounding not much older than him. Ezekiel grunted as his foot hit a underwater log before he shot back at her " Yeah, because you were soooooo much faster at finding me last time.. You know, when you accidentally swam out into the current and i had to get you. I thought you were always the one bragging about being a good swimmer". He smiled as he heard a frustrated growl bracing just in time to be bowled into by her as she attempted to push him over. "Oh looks like i found Jessica, once again i win" he laughed out, sticking his tongue out at her once she stopped struggling to dunk him.
Opening his eyes, Ezekiel looked down at Jessica, only a couple inches shorter than him as he released her from his grip. She had on large T-shirt that draped down past her stomach, he long brown hair clinging to the fabric of it drenched from their recent struggle. Her amber eyes glared up at him, she playfully slapped his shoulder nudging him towards the shore. They ambled over, grabbing the towel they draped over the branches of some young saplings. Quickly drying off, Ezekiel took the lead as they began to head back down the trail towards the town.
Ezekiel and Jessica became friends at a young age, being on the outskirts of town, near the river and woods, they found themselves hanging out a lot in the summer, heading into the woods to swim and climb trees and challenge each other to see who was better. Ezekiel won sometimes, normally giving up before any negative consequences could happen, Jessica on the other hand, had a strong competitive spirit that drove her to be better than him and tried her hardest. Yet they were still best friends, enjoying watching Sunday cartoons, racing around their houses playing tag, generally just being carefree kids enjoying the summer.
The duo finally made it back to the Jessica's house, making their way inside. Ezekiel took off his shoes and placed them on the little mat that was bought just for him. Letting out a slight laugh he murmured " You guys didn't have to buy this just for me, you know?" earning a sigh from Jessica. "Like we would, its just a courtesy and its not just for you. Don't go thinking you're a big deal or something" and quickly gave him a joking smack on the back of his head, "Come on, lets go to my room". After getting themselves a bottle of water, they went upstairs before ending up in Jessica's room.
Ezekiel strolled in ignoring the multiple stuffed animals on the bed, plopping down in the clearest spot on the bed he could find. Laying down and pivoting around he scooted over so his legs were resting against the wall, his shorts dropping towards him because of gravity as they went up the wall and he gazed up at the ceiling. "Hey, i thought we were gonna play a game or something" Jessica pouted as she made her way over, moving onto the bed. She slid over next to him before leaning down onto her back like him. Jessica waited a couple seconds, expectantly waiting for a response before she turned to him, finally noticing the steady rise and fall of his chest. " Ugh.. fine, lets nap for a bit, but when we get up, i'm kicking your butt on xbox, no mercy!" she quietly mumbled to herself. Ezekiel's legs were moved as a light blue serpentine tail wrapped around them, gently pulling them down next to Jessica. Winding from the tip of the blue tail, its slowly widened until it flowed beneath her shirt which was hiding her stomach and were her tail began.
Being a young Lamia, she had quite a bit of growing to do yet. Her tail was light blue with barely noticeable diamonds seeming to go down her tail on the sides. It would take time for the pattern to emerge but it didn't matter. All Jessica cared about was that she had this friend to spend her time with. Growing up with him, she had yet to be alone. He never left her side, even if his classmates were scared of her. She knew she had a real friend to go to if she ever had trouble, a friend who she could go out with and play like any other kid. Her mother loved Ezekiel coming over and was close friends with his family.
"Rest now, soon you will be begging me for mercy..." she mumbled as she began to doze off, Ezekiel's steady breathing lulling her into sleep as she lay next to him, her tail gently coiled around him, keeping them close together.